[[Image:Decety Striatum.jpg|thumb|When youth with aggressive conduct disorder watch an individual intentionally hurting another (like closing a piano lid), regions of the brain that process painful information are activated, as are the amygdala and ventral striatum (part of the neural circuit involved in reward processing (Decety, Michalska, Akitsuki & Lahey, 2009).]] Developmental psychologists and social neuroscientists have hypothesized that empathy and sympathetic concern for others are essential factors inhibiting aggression toward others.<ref>Eisenberg, N. (2005). Age changes in prosocial responding and moral reasoning in adolescence and early adulthood. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 235-260.</ref> <ref>Decety, J., & Meyer, M. (2008). From emotion resonance to empathic understanding: A social developmental neuroscience account. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 1053-1080. </ref>

[[Image:Decety Striatum.jpg|thumb|When youth with aggressive conduct disorder watch an individual intentionally hurting another (like closing a piano lid), regions of the brain that process painful information are activated, as are the amygdala and ventral striatum (part of the neural circuit involved in reward processing (Decety, Michalska, Akitsuki & Lahey, 2009).]] Developmental psychologists and social neuroscientists have hypothesized that empathy and sympathetic concern for others are essential factors inhibiting aggression toward others.<ref>Eisenberg, N. (2005). Age changes in prosocial responding and moral reasoning in adolescence and early adulthood. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 235-260.</ref> <ref>Decety, J., & Meyer, M. (2008). From emotion resonance to empathic understanding: A social developmental neuroscience account. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 1053-1080. </ref>

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The propensity for aggressive behavior has been hypothesized to reflect a blunted empathic response to the suffering of others.<ref>Blair, R.J.R. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 698-718.</ref> Such a lack of [[empathy]] in aggressive individuals may be a consequence of a failure to be aroused by the distress of others.<ref>Raine, A., Venables, P., & Mednick, S. (1997). Low resting heart rate at age three years predisposes to aggression at age 11 years: Evidence from the Mauritius Child Health Project. Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1457-1464.</ref> Similarly, it has been suggested that aggressive behavior arises from abnormal processing of affective information, resulting in a deficiency in experiencing fear, empathy, and guilt, which in normally developing individuals inhibits the acting out of violent impulses.<ref>Herpertz, S.C., & Sass, H. (2000). Emotional deficiency and psychopathy. Behavioral Science and Law, 18, 317-323.</ref>

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The propensity for aggressive behavior has been hypothesized to reflect a blunted empathic response to the suffering of others.<ref>Blair, R.J.R. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 698-718.</ref> Such a lack of [[empathy]] in aggressive individuals may be a consequence of a failure to be aroused by the distress of others.<ref>Raine, A., Venables, P., & Mednick, S. (1997). Low resting heart rate at age three years predisposes to aggression at age 11 years: Evidence from the Mauritius Child Health Project. Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1457-1464.</ref> Similarly, it has been suggested that aggressive behavior arises from abnormal processing of affective information, resulting in a deficiency in experiencing fear, empathy, and guilt, which in normally developing individuals inhibits the acting out of violent impulses.<ref>Herpertz, S.C., & Sass, H. (2000). Emotional deficiency and psychopathy. Behavioral Science and Law, 18, 317-323.</ref>

Some scholars have proposed that lack of empathy and empathic concern (callous disregard for the welfare of others) is an important risk factor for conduct disorder.[1][2]

File:Decety Striatum.jpg Developmental psychologists and social neuroscientists have hypothesized that empathy and sympathetic concern for others are essential factors inhibiting aggression toward others.[3][4]

The propensity for aggressive behavior has been hypothesized to reflect a blunted empathic response to the suffering of others.[5] Such a lack of empathy in aggressive individuals may be a consequence of a failure to be aroused by the distress of others.[6] Similarly, it has been suggested that aggressive behavior arises from abnormal processing of affective information, resulting in a deficiency in experiencing fear, empathy, and guilt, which in normally developing individuals inhibits the acting out of violent impulses.[7]